Eric Andrew Schiller was born in New York. He has served as an international organizer for FIDE, and also an international arbiter most notably for the Kramnik-Kasparov World Championship match. Mr. Schiller also captained several Pan-American Intercollegiate teams, as well as the World Youth Championship in Chicago.

Over-the-board accomplishments include obtaining the USCF Life Master, and FIDE Master titles. He won the 1974 Illinois State Championship, and the 1995 Calchess State Championship.
Schiller has also established himself as a prolific and popular author of a wide range of chess books.

PawnSac: <GM Nakamura's reaction on Twitter
suggests that he is not really happy:

"It is truly disgusting that people are allowed to write books and profit
off of our games without our permission".>

I am a hydraulic engineer, and regularly write technical material and create new products, redesign of parts, and so forth. I have several US patents on parts i've designed, and new technology i've created, so i'm familiar with patents and copyrights.
I know books are a slightly different area of legalese, as far as what constitutes "plagarism" and so forth. But in general i think it runs this way..

The games themselves, since they are in the public venue, can not be copyrighted. Take for example a football game. No player can demand royalties from a sports commentator for doing an article or news brief on his play. The game in that sense is public domain.
The chess game score sheets are also not copyrighted, and as on chessgames.com are available for download or review, and are entered into public domain. Now if Naka wrote a book, and another book quoted his text without permission, that is, a sizeable enough portion, THEN that would be "illegal".
But a brief quote, like for example..
<Hikaru, in his book, [title], said that the line following [move sequence] "leads to a white advantage", and we tend to agree.> where the quote is Naka's, is also acceptable. It's like quoting the president in a speech, or a player who made a public comment during interview. As long as you QUOTE ACCURATELY (so as not to distort) and GIVE CREDIT for the source, its like quoting Encyclopedia Britannica. Just like a paper written for a philosophy course, or such in university. The Tarabian format and requirement for a certain number of quotes from ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS with appropriate footnotes teaches a proper scholastic method for citing other's work.
This is acceptable and is part of intellectual freedom. BUT when the quantity gets larger (like pages of text) THEN there is a breach, since anything beyond a reasonable quote must have written permission from author and/or publisher.

As for books... the name of any public figure, whether sports, TV, etc can be used as long as it is not derogatory (defamatory libel).
Further, when one writes a book, it is not really the game score one buys, but the COMMENTARY, background information, and insight and so forth that the author contributes. For example, if i buy MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES, it is not the game score i want but Fischer's analysis!
THATS what i pay for. I can get the game scores from various sources.
Now if an author writes a book, and someone else uses the same commentary and insight on the same game, even if he changes the words around a little, can STILL constitute a breach of copyright or theft of intellectual property.

But really.. Naka's response is very immature. He should be PLEASED that people are using his name and citing his games. It makes him famous! THEN when he writes his own book, it is considered all the more valuable and his sales go up! The fact that every GM on the planet was preoccupied with Fischer's games and performance record is exactly what made Fischer's books best sellers!

perfidious: <PawnSac> Wonder how Naka might have felt at a tender young age when he was learning from grandmaster games, had someone suggested that he be unable to use such-and-such information, because it was copyrighted.

PawnSac: < perfidious: <PawnSac> Wonder how Naka might have felt at a tender young age when he was learning from grandmaster games, had someone suggested that he be unable to use such-and-such information, because it was copyrighted. >

Precisely. An inflated ego distorts the perspective. If he had the same mental disposition as when he was a kid he would consider it an honor to help the young aspiring players.

PawnSac: <Eric Schiller: Been ill and busy writing and teaching but hope to visit more frequently.>

Hope you're feeling better.

A CONTACT button on your web page would be helpful. Or post a generic non-personal contact email address, so that if someone wants to contribute a comment it doesn't have to be public. For example..

your web page.. "I teach chess and English skills on the SF Peninsula and online. In < 20011 > I am teaching at Palo Verde, International and Las Lomitas schools for Bay Area Chess."

I know you're a popular guy, but find it astounding that someone would book you 18 thousand years in advance! <grin>

Anyway.. I have proof-read technical material for decades, and even in some of my writing there are occasional typo's. I appreciate it when people bring things to my attention. it is SO easy for stuff to pass the eye test. The problem is the brain does "auto correction".

DoctorD: Yes, Mr.Schiller I agree, hope all turns out well for you. I have been critical of some of your work in the past but I certainly appreciate your productivity and your love for chess, which is what binds us all. Get well!

Eric Schiller: John Watson and I have just finished a major new book, Taming Wild Chess Openings, for eplus chess books, available later this year for ipad and iphone. A print version will appear eventually.

James Demery: Hi Eric. l was curious why didnt u become a GM? l dont mean that in a hateful way l mean it more like why do some people become GM's and others dont? Do they have a knowledge of chess that u lack? U have PhD so obviously u have more than enough intelligence. Did u not have time?

Richard Taylor: I saw a book of strange openings written or co-written by Schiller. I also have an old book about defense which has some good games in it and is well written although there are some printing typo errors but it is still good on defence and counter attack etc.

I was also wondering about his health when I saw the 'April Fools Mate' GOTD just now in the Pakham's Attack I think it is...

Maybe specializing in "weird" might help in weekenders and blitz for players who don't like learning main lines (and are ordinary lowish rated club players like myself, when I play which is rare these days...)

NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply.
Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous,
and 100% free--plus, it
entitles you to features otherwise unavailable.
Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should
login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.

No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.

No personal attacks against other members.

Nothing in violation of United States law.

No posting personal information of members.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.

NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page.
This forum is for this specific player and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or
this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages
posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.